No Right Or Wrong Answers For When To Sell Your Ring And What To Do With The Money

Share

Ever wonder what other divorced women do with their engagement and wedding rings? People pretty much assume you either sell your ring, or put it in a jewelry box drawer, where it stays forever. Well, here are some real answers. For this week’s Love Essentially column, I asked a couple different Facebook groups, “What did you do with the money you got from selling your rings?” What was so interesting was, the responses were so diverse, leading me to realize that there are no wrong or right answers. What you decide to do with your wedding rings is entirely personal. My only advice is, listen to your heart in making the decision, and wait until you are truly ready to part with them.

From a new car to paying for nursing school — what 34 divorced women did after selling the ring

By Jackie Pilossoph for Chicago Tribune Media Group

It was almost 20 years ago, but I can still vividly remember the moment my boyfriend asked me to marry him, and then pulled out a diamond engagement ring.

It was a cold winter night, and we were sitting on the rug in front of my fireplace in my downtown condo. When I saw the little box, I was in shock (in a good way!) It felt like a magical moment; I was instantly transforming from a single girl who had dated a bunch of Mr. Wrongs to a woman who was getting her fairy-tale ending.

At that beautiful moment, I could never have known that years later, our marriage would crumble, that we would get divorced, that I’d be a single mom, and that the beautiful, sparkling, perfect diamond ring that I wore so proudly for so long would sit in a drawer for several years until I decided to sell it.

For most divorced women, if and when you sell your wedding rings and what you do with the money are very difficult, thoughtful decisions. Why? Because there is so much emotion involved in parting with a piece of jewelry that represented love, commitment, trust, and the dream that it would stay on your finger until the day you died. Also, these decisions are very personal. No decision is right or wrong, and no one should judge someone for what she decides to do.

I asked a few groups of divorced women on Facebook, “How long did you wait before selling your engagement ring and what did you do with the money?